Protests Erupt Over Cuts In Disaster Aid

A plan to cut federal aid to repair public property damaged in natural disasters could cost Florida millions of dollars and already is drawing criticism from government officials nationwide.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency now pays 75 percent of the cost to clean up and rebuild public property destroyed during a hurricane, tornado, earthquake or other catastrophe declared a natural disaster by the president. States and local governments split the rest of the cost.

But now, goaded by pressure from the Reagan administration to trim the federal deficit, the agency is scheduled to put into effect Oct. 1 procedures that would make states and counties foot most of the bill. It could mean no federal money to repair washed-out roads, restore beaches or rebuild schools, city halls or other public buildings.

The proposed changes are so drastic, opponents say, that 61 of the last 111 presidentially declared public disasters would have gotten no federal money. Florida would have lost more than $10 million in federal aid it received last year when communities were devastated by hurricanes Elena and Kate, said state officials.

''It's terrible,'' said Jon Peck, spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is fighting the plan. ''There's not a state emergency pot sitting out there waiting for a disaster to be used. If the only road to a populated island is washed out, you can't say, 'Sorry, we'll get to it in a couple of years when we have the money.' ''

Only a change of heart by the agency or intercession by Congress could stop the rules from going into effect. The proposed changes have officials in Florida and other states so worried that they are flooding Washington with letters of protest. More than 200 letters have been sent to the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, which oversees half of the agency's functions.

Gov. Bob Graham and 10th District Rep. Andy Ireland are among those who have written letters. And 7th District Rep. Sam Gibbons is co-sponsoring one of two U.S. House bills to reform the agency and put into effect a cost- sharing ratio, which has been policy rather than law. The legislation also has been introduced in the Senate.

A separate attempt to stop the proposal will come before the House Appropriations Committee during budget hearings Thursday. An appropriations subcommittee has attached a stipulation to the agency's 1987 budget that would bar it from using any money to implement the new rule.

If that stipulation survives budget hearings in the House and Senate, ''the agency's hands are tied for at least a year,'' said one subcommittee staff member.

But opponents are not taking any chances.

''We're keeping our eyes on it,'' said Peggy Peterson, an aide to U.S. Rep. Tom Ridge, R-Pa., who is sponsoring both House bills. ''When a town is hit unexpectedly by a disaster, a local government is strapped. A lot of these towns aren't rolling in dough. . . . If these regulations go into effect, it would make that crisis even worse.''

Many local governments could be faced with raising taxes or cutting services to make up for the lost aid, said Peck.

Peterson said the agency also has proposed making the states pay 25 percent of the cost of federal disaster programs for individuals, which includes money for temporary housing, crisis counseling and disaster unemployment compensation. The federal government now picks up the tab for those programs under the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, she said.

The act provides for the granting of federal aid to eligible individuals, state and local governments and non-profit organizations, such as electric co- operatives. Guidelines on eligibility for these programs basically would not change under the new rules.

Once eligible, however, governments and the non-profit organizations would have to pay a deductible based on the state's population and income before getting any federal money. Florida's deductible would be $11.3 million, which means the state would have gotten no federal money for public losses during hurricanes Kate and Elena.

Deductibles for Central Florida counties range from $142,000 in Osceola County to $1.3 million in Orange County. Brevard County's deductible would be $793,402, Volusia County's $657,925, Seminole County's $539,933 and Lake County's $271,747.

''They've stirred up a hornet's nest,'' Donald Kean, Brevard Emergency Management director, said of the proposal. ''If you take $800,000 out of Brevard's budget for two or three disasters, you're talking an awful lot of money. It would be devastating to some counties.''

But agency spokesman Bill McAda said the plan would take into consideration such things as multiple disasters during a single budget year. ''We've been quite up front'' about the fiscal impact on governments, he said. ''But I guess it comes down to how far the federal government should go in offering assistance.''